A yoga column questions the habit of pushing harder
Paulo Vieira’s account of a São Paulo class turns attention from enduring discomfort to noticing effort.
In a November 9 Folha de S.Paulo column, Paulo Vieira writes about a hatha yoga course taught by Danilo Forghieri at CEPEUSP, the University of São Paulo’s sports centre. His subject is the familiar assumption that effort must hurt to count.
An account of learning to notice
Vieira describes a class in which students encounter relaxation and the experience of releasing control. He presents the teacher’s attention to facial tension as a way of noticing when effort has become excessive. These are observations in a personal column, not results from an exercise study.
CEPEUSP’s current course description independently identifies stability, comfort and relaxation of effort as teaching themes. It lists Danilo among the instructors for its adult and older-adult yoga programme. The university page does not establish the physiological claims discussed in the column.
The account is most useful as a question about classroom language: what does a teacher ask students to pay attention to? It is not a prescription for partner handling or particular postures. Any use of touch still depends on a participant’s freely given consent.
Sources
YOGA+